Time to hop aboard the hype train, along with everyone else in the gaming landscape currently.

I've never been a fan of From Software games. I've tried Dark Souls III and Bloodbourne, but I wasn't able to get into them. Partly because I'm pretty ♥♥♥♥, but also because of my distaste towards the core design principles.

However, Elden Ring is an open world game (gasp), and with that comes a different approach to the game. Instead of a linear story with a set order in which you must beat bosses and level up, you're free to do whatever you want, and to take the game at your own pace. Can't defeat Margit? Go and do literally anything else, get stronger, and come back (or don't even fight him, you can skip the entirety of Stormveil Castle if you choose to). Scared of confrontation? Play as a magic-user, and revel in all the ♥♥♥♥ the community will give you for doing so, let it fuel you.

I will say that anyone new to FromSoft games might get a bit of whiplash from the community, which mostly consists of people insulting everyone who doesn't play the game exactly the way they themselves do. But, just avoiding any social media relating to the game can mostly avoid those kinds of people.

The game has a very "lived-in" feeling due to all the messages, bloodstains, and phantoms of other people you'll constantly see throughout the world (as long as you're online). Whether it be warnings about ambushes in catacombs, telling you that there's a hidden path ahead when there isn't, or calling a turtle a dog, you never feel alone, even when you are. While most of those good points are also features of other FromSoft games, they aren't locked behind games I don't like anymore, so now I can gush about them a bit.

Elden Ring takes every good aspect of the other games, puts them together, adds an open world, and adds a story that's easier to follow than the others. If you have any interest in FromSoft games in general, if you're a fan of open world games, or if you enjoy games that can be challenging, you WILL enjoy Elden Ring, as long as you give it a chance.